mom2

Wow. During the Erik Bruhn Competition in Toronto, Frank Anderson was asked about a successor....I thought at the time that it was a rather rude question, seeing as he still had some time to go as AD.... This is wonderful news for the RDB. I'm sorry that I haven'te seen Mr. Hubbe dance live...maybe there's still time?? m2

Well, Part of the answer is now out. People had been wondering about principal casting at NBOC, and in today's Globe and Mail there's an article about the baby boom at NBOC. The following dancers are pregnant: Andrea Olteneau (corps), Sonia Rodriguez, Jennifer Fournier, and Stephanie Hutchison. It looks as though Olteneau is due first (there are photos; the article says she's due in late June), and the others are due around late summer. Congratulations to all the moms to be!! ...Ms Kain is quoted as saying that she doesn't anticipate having to hire any guest dancers to fill the roles. Here is a link to the online article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ertainment/home m2

Am just watching it on tv myself, from Canada. Unfortunately not the best short program for Sandhu, former ballet student...however wonderful short for Joubert of France, Buttle of Canada, and Takashi of Japan (what footwork!!) I really don't know much about skating, but have always enjoyed watching the competitions! m2

You know, I had completely forgotten that Tina Pereira was a replacement for B. Zehr! How awful of me!! :blush: I see that Zehr will be dancing in this coming week's program, so hopefully she is on the mend now. I agree with you Noreen - KK can't ignore the performances that Pereira has given of late!!

Went to the matinee this afternoon. As the luck of the Irish would have it, Jason Reilly did perform, partnering Tina Pereira. A WONDERFUL performance. I have never seen Mr Reilly perform before, but he seemed absolutely perfect for the role of Petruchio. Ms Pereira also did quite well - her part is quite demanding in terms of dramatics, and she fit the bill quite nicely. If anyone ever had a "good" season, this would be hers I would think. Julie Hay and Victoria Bertram were superb as the Whores. Only small chuckles in the audience (it was a matinee after all) when casting was announced for the "whores." All in all, a very enjoyable afternoon indeed. I also had the pleasure of meeting another BT poster - it just doesn't get much better!! m2

Cote does it again!! Filled in for an injured Jason Reilly, described in today's Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/?query=ballet I don't go to see the show until this coming weekend - who knows what will be in store for the audience by then!! m2

I received my renewal package today via snail mail. I see in the brochure that the list of principal dancers does not include Ryan Boorne. What's up? He's no Guillaume Cote admittedly, but I still like him anyway! There should be a press release shortly about new additions to the company; perhaps we'll find out more about people leaving as well? m2

Competitors: American Ballet Theatre: Misty Copeland and Jared Matthews The National BAllet of Canada: Tina Pereira and Keiichi Hirano (originally Bridgette Zehr was scheduled to compete, but withdrew due to injury) The Royal Ballet: Yuhui Choe and Fernando Montano The Royal Danish Ballet: Yao Wei and Ulrik Birkkjaer

Thanks for that Marga! To be honest I wasn't completely sure that she had done fouettes. That's what I was recalling, but most of my brain was still on "oh no! what happened!!" You describe it much better than I would have been able to! m2

OK, next installment....curious yet?? For the Contemporary section of the evening we saw the following: Royal Danish: Opus, Chor. Tim rushton Royal: R and J balcony scene (MacMillan) ABT: exerpt from Petit Mort (Kylian) NBOC; Balcony Scene, R and J (Cranko) - with Guillame Cote partnering Tina Pereira. I have no idea how the nboc costumes arrived so quickly, but they did - Cote and Pereira did wonderfully. Ms Pereira was truly a star under the circumstances. I loved the performance of the couple from the Royal Danish - had never seen that piece before. Misty Copeland was stunning in Petit Mort - I think she stands out much more in the contemporary work - at least she did last night. The women from RDB and Royal Ballet were wonderful in both of their pieces, but the women's prize went to Tina Pereira. The men's prize went to Ulrik Birkkjaer from the Royal Danish Ballet. I enjoyed him very much, and I also enjoyed the RDB choice of pieces. This is a very talented young man. m2

Let me start by telling you about the drama. The first portion of the evening was the classical repetoire. ABT presented the Grand Pas from Sleeping Beauty, The Royal presented Bluebird pdd, NBOC was Le Corsaire, and the Royal Danish did pdd from Flower Festival in Genzano. All did well, but the standout HAD to be Keiichi Hirano from NBOC with his gravity-defying leaps. Absolutely amazing....until the point that something went wrong and he had to limp off the stage!!! (this was in the final section of the pas). His partner was dumbfounded no doubt, the orchestra played on, and finally the partner (Tina Pereira) filled in the music with some turns in the middle of the stage. Needless to say, we had no idea what the next portion of the evening would bring. After intermission we were told that Keichii had injured his achilles and couldn't continue. Luckily for Tina and the audience, Guillaume Cote had stepped in and partnered her in the balcony pdd from Romeo and Juliet (Cranko). That will give you a taste of the evening....more in a few moments. m2

It was quite the evening, wasn't it? I have checked online versions of the Star, the Globe, and the National Post - nothing yet. Grr. Off the topic of the competition, what did everyone think of the performance of Voluntaries? I thought it was wonderful (save for the difficulty one corps couple had with some lifts), but my husband - who would have rather been at a hockey game - wasn't overly impressed.

Thank you for the reminder, sparkelsocks. I was able to see the show; it was wonderfully done! m2

Bring some warm weather with you, PLEASE. That said, I'm sure we will be entertained well regardless of weather. Congrats to your friend on graduating from the school! I don't know this theatre well enough to comment on your seats, but most orchestra level seats are quite good so I'm sure you'll enjoy. m2

I will be there too Noreen!! I also hope that all injuries are healed soon!!! m2

How old is Tiler Peck, isn't she still quite young?

I saw the program last night as well - had no idea it was on, so missed a bit at the beginning I think. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I agree with you about the lack of synchronization in the corps. I was surprised at this; wondered if it were the camera angle? Perhaps the videographer not being used to a raked stage, or maybe that was just the dancers. I liked the interviews with the russian dancers and audience - it would have been nice to hear more about what the dancers had to say. One young man was impressed with NYCB footwork, but felt that the russian arms were better. He said that he was curious to see the NYCB jumps, but we never heard further from him... I felt badly for the young woman who was to debut in the principal role in Serenade, but was pulled from this after rehearsal. Luckily she did well in the other dance she was cast in - was that Western Symphony? At any rate, a small taste of company life for the viewers I suppose. A LOT of the female dancers were extremely slender, no question about that. Some to the point of worrisome...hopefully this is not the norm we are shooting for. m2

Attended today's matinee performance. Some comments......... * whoever said that there would be no more long lines for the lady's room at the Four Seasons (as opposed to Hummingbird) needs to have another look. I am lucky; I have an aisle seat close to the door so I can make a quick exit. MANY more ladies were not so lucky. Lines MUCH longer than at Hummingbird. * a few little things need attention, such as the elevator (one malfunctioned during the afternoon), and faucets in the ladies' room (left hand faucet never seemed to work). * I thought Chan Hon Goh did a wonderful job as Aurora, and I"m sure she is glad to be back on stage! The Rose Adagio was wonderful, no bobbles at all and if we didn't know better we'd think it was all a walk in the park. The pair of Goh/Konvolina seemed to work well...their fish dives were particularly spectacular (HOW did they do that?) * We were lucky enough to also see Ms Zehr in a major role today. She has power and charisma to burn, but I have to say that I'd like to feed her! * Mr. Konvolina was also a nice addition to NBOC. Technically he has all the skills one would want in a principal dancer. There's a little something missing though, not sure if it's the lighting at the new venue (men tended to look a little pale generally), or if there is something more specific to Mr. Konvolina. He could perhaps use some suggestions re hair products, as his hair didn't stand up to the dancing that it really needed to live through. * Bluebird was lovely today, and althought I have no comparison with the other casts Seo did a wonderful job. * Pussycats were wonderful, but I admit to bias here. I've watched James Leja since he was a student, so have seen him grow from hesitant to comfortable student, then tentative to confident corps de ballet member. it has truly been a pleasure, and I hope that I'll be watching him for many years to come. * other relatively new corps members danced feature roles today, and all parents have a reason to be incredibly proud. I'm looking forward to hearing from others who attended the performance today, and other days. m2

Thanks for the review Noreen! I will be there tomorrow (Sunday) to see Goh/Konvalina. m2

Where I live this show was listed to air on Sunday the 22nd. It didn't. In fact, the television guide in the Globe and Mail actually had TWO different programs listed to air at the same time on the 22nd. Grr. Thankfully there is Ballet Talk, and I also know that Bravo tends to air dance programs on Monday evenings. So...I'll turn in again tonight (this time the sattelite actually gives me hope that the Celia Franca show will air)....and hope for the best! m2

Actually, I don't think Daniil was there. His father performed though.... "feed the bird," and "amour..." (couldn't get the full title of the second one out of a tired student this evening, sorry! As for Desmond Richardson, if that was the same piece we saw in Toronto in 2005 I just can't account for the apparent lack of rave reviews. Speaking of reviews, has anyone found any online? m2

I haven't been able to find a review of the performance, but here is an article published in anticipation of the gala. Many of the works performed are noted here: http://www.canada.com/cityguides/montreal/...819a614&k=31287

I had my daughter consult her program, and Desmond Richardson performed a solo choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, music by Prince. The dancers from the Kirov performed something from Paquita and Grand Pas Classique. It was the latter dance that she was in awe of. She also enjoyed Annik B. from Les Grands in Petit Mort, a Kylian piece. The dancers from Stuttgart were also "amazing" (when you are 19 things seem to be one extreme or the other). They did a piece entitled "Mono Lisa," choreographed by Itzik Galili. (These dancers were Jason Reilly and Alicia Amatriain.) Wish I could have been in the audience as well! m2

Hi Gracey, She didn't tell me what work Desmond performed, but she wasn't gushing as much as I did when I saw him in the Toronto Gala in 2005 (daughter had rehearsal herself that day, so someone else had the benefit of her ticket!)..I know that if she had seen that Toronto performance she would have been mightily impressed. And yes, Heather Ogden and G. Cote performed as well. Because she has seen them perform a number of times before, she expected the would do well and they did!

welcome volcanohunter! I live in another part of Canada, but am indeed up here in the great white north and a transplanted american to boot. I do believe that there are other Albertans here, but the ones I know seem to spend more time on the BT for dancers site. I'm sure you'll cross paths with them before too long! mom2